I woke up around four from my nap after leaving Bella's presence at around ten. We had breakfast at the cafe down the street and talked some more about whatever happened to come up in conversation. I learned that she was half Scottish; her dad being the Scot and her mom being French.
"I have a bit of a temper," she admitted shyly. "Just ask Mary Alice. I've blown up on a fair amount of people since we met in September."
"Well, I'm full Scot, so I've got a temper, too," I replied with an easy grin. "And I've got red hair."
"Bring on the screaming matches," Bella said with a smirk.
"Hopefully in more scenarios than just being upset with each other," I quirked, smirking right back at her.
She blushed, but grinned just the same.
We parted ways after I dropped her off at her front step. My car was still at Up Yer Kilt, so I walked the few blocks to the pub and grabbed my stuff and came home. My phone was surprisingly silent. I thought for sure Emmett would be blowing up my line, especially since he couldn't shut up about Bella's stems at the concert.
Emmett picked me up at six, and we headed out for supper with Liam and Jasper. The guys asked for the dirty details, and I gave them a slightly less sordid tale than what actually happened.
"Man, you're so lucky," Emmett sighed. "She's smoking hot, and crazy fun."
"Yeah, I know," I replied, definitely thanking my stars for Bella picking me over Emmett. It seemed like their attitudes towards life would mesh better together, but c'est la vie.
We paid our bills and headed back to Up Yer Kilt just as the girls were walking on stage. Bella caught my eye and winked before turning her back to the crowd.
The girls were phenomenal, as per usual. With two older sisters to put up with growing up, I knew all about Highland dancing. Although, it never looked as good as it did when the Glennies got up there.
Emmett and Liam were whooping for the girls as they left the stage. Bella, Mary Alice, and Angela came and sat at our table. I pushed a pint that I'd just gotten from Garrett towards Bella.
"Thank you," she murmured, smiling shyly.
This wasn't the same girl from last night. Not even close.
"You're welcome," I replied, putting my hand on her nylon-covered thigh and squeezing.
Her cheeks flushed and her hands clenched around her glass and she refused to look at me.
"My feet hurt," Mary Alice whined, shifting my attention from the awkward girl beside me.
"You only did one dance," Liam reminded her with a laugh.
"You try dancing like that," Alice snapped back, crossing her arms and pouting. Jasper put his arm around the back of her chair and smiled good naturedly at his girlfriend's whining.
"I need to get myself a Glennie," Emmett sighed, looking forlornly at the table with the rest of the dancers.
"You'd show them up in your kilt," Bella said with a genuine smile. "Nobody can compete with those legs."
"I think you could, Stems," Emmett replied quickly with a wink.
Bella rolled her eyes and took a big gulp of her beer.
Another group of girls went up to dance while Bella quickly chugged her beer.
"Nice," I commented upon her finishing.
She just shrugged and said, "Costume change." before sneaking into the backroom to change.
Bella didn't sit with us again, leaving me agitated and confused. I thought for sure we'd pick up where we'd left on this morning. I didn't expect her to drag me to her bed or anything, but I thought we were getting along pretty well. I liked talking to her, and I wouldn't mind getting that gam she'd been talking about the night before.
They went up for their next dance, which was a little livelier. Bella's attitude shifted from self-conscious to confident with a snap of her long legs. Suddenly she was the girl from last night with the gorgeous smile and killer legs. It was great to see her dancing like she really meant it.
When they finished, our whole table stood up and applauded the girls. They all curtsied and waved to us and headed off stage.
Garrett rounded up some pints and shots for the girls at the bar. After about 15 minutes, they all came wandering out, wearing jeans and shirts again, rather than kilts and tank tops. They cheered when they saw the drinks that were ready for them and quickly knocked back the shots and chased them with their pints.
"Great show, lass," Garrett said to Mary Alice, ruffling her hair and grinning when she pushed his hand away from her head.
"Thanks, Da," she replied, teasing him with a stern look.
She grabbed Bella and dragged her over to our table. Angela and a red head followed behind them, Angela grinning and the red head staring at us openly.
Mary Alice sat down on Jasper's lap, sipping from her pint.
"Well?" Bella asked before sitting down beside me again. "What'd ya think?"
"You're a much better fiddler than a dancer," Emmett told her seriously. Bella slapped his arm and he winked at her.
"This is Maggie," Bella introduced, pointing to the red head.
"Nice to meet you," I offered, smiling at the girl.
"These guys are in Braw Bahooky," Bella continued. "This is Liam, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett."
"Sit down, sit down," Liam said, shoving out two chairs to the girls.
"How long are you guys in town this time?" Bella asked, taking a sip of her pint and licking the foam off of her top lip.
"Dunno," Liam said with a shrug, his thumb scratching at the label on his bottle. "'Bout time for a little break from that stinky, old van, if ya ask me."
"I agree," I said quickly. "I need at least a month to be clean and away from Emmett's natural odour."
Mary Alice snorted and ran her nails over Jasper's scalp.
"Hey, I resent that," Emmett replied with a grin. "Holding your farts in is unhealthy. 'Gotta get all that bacteria outta my system."
"It's true," Bella said.
"Hey, we don't need any educated opinions assuring Emmett that it's okay to shit his pants on the bus," Liam said with a laugh.
Bella shrugged unapologetically.
"Thank you, Stems!" Emmett called, thrusting his hands in the arm before wrapping one arm around her shoulder. "You're the whole package, aren't you? Fiddler, Glennie, smart, stems for days..."
"Yeah, yeah, enough about my stems," Bella grumbled good-naturedly. "Let's change the subject before you start waxing poetry."
"Oh, Bella, your stems are quite cute! They end at an angle that is acute!" Emmett recited, one hand on his heart, the other patting Bella's cheek.
"That's not half bad," Angela said with a chuckle.
"You've got fingers quick as a dart! You're fiddling your way right into my heart!" he continued, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it. "Dancing your way across the stage like a doe! You're more than just looks, though! You've got a brain and a heart that can't compare! No one will love you more, this I swear!"
Bella was blushing furiously by the end. "Emmett, that was absolutely beautiful."
"Made it up on the spot, of course," Emmett said proudly. "Now, about that kiss..."
"Ha, yeah, you wish, pal," Bella blurted, taking a big swig from her pint.
Emmett pouted. "C'mon, just one little nip."
Bella rolled her eyes before leaning forward and quickly pecking Emmett on the lips. He immediately grinned at blushing Bella.
"Fuck yeah!" Emmett yelped, fist-pumping. "Sorry, Eddie, but looks like I'm stealing your lass!"
The table erupted into chuckles while Bella shook her head, making sure she sent me a wink and a smirk to ensure that I wasn't losing her to Emmett. But, I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. She was so easy-going with Emmett, but could barely look at me. Why? What the fuck did I do wrong?
The night continued with everyone drinking and relaxing, other than Bella and I. She continually ignored me – subtly, of course – and shifted her attention to anyone else at the table, usually Emmett or Mary Alice.
"Well, I better hit the road," Bella finally announced when last call was yelled from behind the bar. "I've got a midterm on Monday and a job interview on Tuesday, and I'm so far from ready for either of them. I'll see you three on Wednesday," she said to Mary Alice, Angela, and Maggie, "and, well, it's been nice getting to know you guys. Hopefully I'll see you around again." She waved and lifted her dance bag over her head before smiling and heading for the door.
We sat in silence for a second.
"Are you seriously not following her?" Mary Alice asked skeptically. "I thought you two hit it off last night."
"Yeah, and then she ignored me all night," I replied.
"God, you're so moody," Emmett complained. "Remember back in the day when you actually had to work to get girls? I mean, I'm still surprised when girls wanna hook up with me just 'cause I play the pipes in a little Celtic band."
"I just... She really ignored me all night," was my smart response. "She barely even looked at me."
Angela rolled her eyes. "She's a good girl, Edward. Last night was a huge leap in the opposite direction from good to her."
"I didn't make her do any of that," I protested.
"We know," Mary Alice told me. "But she's probably freaking out, thinking you only want her for one thing."
"I don't!" I squawked. "I would've been okay with just talking."
"We don't care!" Angela assured me. "Go tell her!"
I immediately got out of my seat and pulled my jacket on before throwing some money down on the table and walking out the door. I could see Bella's figure just down the street. I jogged to catch up with her, grabbing her arm lightly.
"Bella," I said, "I don't know why you're ignoring me, but I'm sorry if I did anything to offend you or make you think I only want you as a hook-up."
"Um," Bella said, turning to face me with her arms crossed. "I don't – I don't know what you're talking about..."
"You've been ignoring me," I reminded her. "Why? I thought we were getting along fine last night and this morning."
"I was drunk," Bella mumbled. "I don't act that way usually. I was a fucking virgin until I was 21, and I've only slept with one boy, and I dated him for a year and a half before we had sex, and I'm sorry. I'm rambling."
"It's okay, get it all out," I told her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and steering her towards her house. "I'll walk you home."
"There's nothing left to say, I don't wanna say anything else," Bella said, closing her lips tightly.
"You shouldn't be ashamed or embarrassed, Bella," I said reassuringly. "The only person you're freaking out is yourself."
"Boys like you don't go for girls like me," she mumbled, shaking my arm off her shoulder. "And if you do go for me, it's because I'm coming across as easy."
"You're wrong," I said as I grabbed her hands and stopping her from turning away from me again. "I would've been fine with letting you go home by yourself tonight if you would've just talked to me a bit. I really like you. You. Your personality. You're funny and witty, and, yeah, you've got a great body, and a wicked little mouth, but there's more to you than that. I wanna know everything about you, Bella."
She looked at me shyly. "I wanna know you, too, Edward."
"Good," I said with a grin. I twined our hands together and started walking towards her house. "Let's start with your family."
Sorry. Just, always sorry for being so lame about updating. Work is crazy, and I've finally dedicated myself to a healthier lifestyle, so lots of time spent at the gym and looking up recipes that are good for me (anyone got any good, healthy recipes?).
I haven't started on the next chapter, not too sure when I will or when it will be done. I don't see this fic being very long, maybe a couple more chapters, so I'll try to finish it before the end of the year.
Gah, my 17-year-old self would've had this story done in a week. 22-year-old me is not as inspired.
Thanks for reading.